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We're a long way from being overrun by food carts like Portland, Ore. But by month's end, we'll get The Springs Cupcake Truck (thespringscupcaketruck.com).

If the words "cupcake truck" don't already make you smile, try the descriptions on cake-crumbs.com. For instance: mocha with espresso butter cream frosting.

Cake Crumbs is the Denver bakery behind The Denver Cupcake Truck, both owned by Sean and Denon Moore. Denon is Pat Kennelly's niece. Kennelly co-owns the Springs' Mediterranean Cafe. And though it's a separate business, "basically we're distributors of her product," explains Kennelly.

"We wanted to do a mobile Mediterranean cart, but the cost is close to that of opening a restaurant ... [this] was a relatively low-cost way to experience a mobile-food-truck concept" before committing to a pricier one.

Friend the Springs truck — which, sadly, doesn't look like a Strawberry Shortcake/Mario Kart hybrid, but instead like a snappy 1973 Ford delivery vehicle — on Facebook for up-to-date info on where to find it. For now, either Pat or her husband Mike will always oversee the cafe while the other sells cupcakes, and they aren't doing daily routes. Private party-scheduling is available, and farmers market appearances are planned. Expect around eight standard-sized options on a given day: $2.75 each or four for $10.

Plan B's

Flash back to November 2008: A minivan slams into Mr. B's BBQ & Soul Food at the corner of Cimarron and Sierra Madre streets, effectively putting owner Ivan Bookard out of business. When we check with him in April 2009, Bookard says he's trying to reopen, but sounds despondent. A year and a half later, he's still struggling to make a comeback at a new location: the former Abo-Abo African Caribbean Market, 311 S. Hancock Ave.

"The insurance company paid the guy I was renting from, but they never gave me anything," says Bookard. "I've asked some people to help me get open."

Bookard doesn't yet know when he'll be ready for service, as he's still in need of funds to finish outfitting the space, then have it inspected. Call 634-0378 for updates.

Spice route

Owner Sandy Vanderstoep says that Garden of the Gods Gourmet's (2528 W. Cucharras St., godsgourmet.net) recent switchover to 100 percent organic herbs and spices is just the beginning of a "significant expansion" that she's not yet ready to reveal.

She says the move isn't meant to compete with other new spice shops — prior to catering, spices were the original impetus for GOGG's launch — but she's been waiting for "the right moment to morph them into much more than a bit player."